Netanyahu Targets Mamdani in UN Speech, Praises Trump Partnership

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday to launch a sharp attack on New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, accusing him of endangering Jewish New Yorkers while also mounting a broader defence of Israel’s military actions against Iran and its regional adversaries. The roughly 40-minute speech came amid growing international criticism of Israel and less than five weeks before Israel’s October 27 general election.

Addressing Mamdani directly, Netanyahu called him the “antisemitic mayor of New York” and accused him of spreading what he described as lies about Israel. He said Jewish residents had told him they no longer felt safe in the city and argued that New York had changed rapidly since Mamdani became mayor. Netanyahu also rejected accusations of genocide, saying Israel had prevented rather than committed genocide.

The confrontation stems from Mamdani’s longstanding criticism of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Mamdani has described Netanyahu as a “war criminal” and the “architect of a horrific genocide” against Palestinians. He has maintained that criticism of Israel and advocacy for Palestinian rights do not constitute antisemitism. Mamdani’s office did not immediately comment on Netanyahu’s speech.

The dispute also has a legal dimension. During his mayoral campaign, Mamdani said he would direct New York police to enforce the International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Netanyahu. He later acknowledged that the city lacked such authority and called on the federal government to act. US President Donald Trump has said Netanyahu would not be arrested.

Netanyahu also used the speech to defend the US-Israel military campaign against Iran, praising Trump as Israel’s “greatest partner.” He said Israel and the United States had acted together against Iran and portrayed the campaign as necessary to counter its nuclear and missile capabilities.

He included Yemen’s Houthis among the seven fronts Israel was fighting, alongside Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria. However, Netanyahu did not announce a new Israeli commitment to join a separate US operation against the Houthis.

The remarks followed Trump’s UN speech two days earlier, in which he warned that Iran faced a choice between reaching a deal and “annihilating the Islamic Republic.” Netanyahu did not directly repeat that formulation.

Netanyahu’s speech was met by a walkout by dozens of delegates, while protests took place outside the UN. He ended his attack on Mamdani by declaring: “You can’t silence me. You can’t silence the truth.”